I know I'm about to get negged to Bolivia, but after watching this Ohio vs South Florida game and with the injury news coming out of NC with K. Marshall possibly fracturing his wrist and Henson still being hurt, I can't help but think what could have been. Am I crazy for thinking this way??? Anyone else think if we had hit some of those bunnies at the end of the Ohio game and maybe one more break we could possibly be headed to the final four??? Sorry if this post pours salt in some wounds, but today just made me almost have my first drink in over 16 years...
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The NCAA Tourney pain won't go away...
March 18th, 2012 at 9:31 PM
#1
The NCAA Tourney pain won't go away...
March 18th, 2012 at 9:33 PM
#2
It's frustrating, but one
It's frustrating, but one basketball game is what made you drink again? Really?
March 18th, 2012 at 9:36 PM
#3
I edited it my man...
I meant to say "almost". Havn't touched the stuff since November 1995. Thanks for the catch
March 18th, 2012 at 9:37 PM
#4
That makes a little more
That makes a little more sense :)
I agree with the general sentiment though, it's rough seeing things fall apart for so many good teams and know we'd have had a chance for something special but blew it.
March 18th, 2012 at 9:50 PM
#5
What was special was sharing
What was special was sharing the league title. They already overachieved with that. If by "special" you meant Final Four, then you harbored unreasonable expectations. The team would never have gotten past UNC and Kansas.
March 18th, 2012 at 10:01 PM
#6
I'll be the first to tell you
I'll be the first to tell you that I'm absolutely thrilled with the way this season went. Definitely didn't expect to win a B1G championship, much less make a final four.
HOWEVA, Kansas is currently down to Purdue, and UNC may have just lost one of their best players for the rest of the tourney. I'm not saying we'd have made it that far, but the window would be open, if even just a smidge. Those expectations would have been unreasonable a few days ago, but with what's happened it might not be quite so unreasonable.
Again, love this team, thrilled with the season, excited about the future, but still disappointed by the early exit from the tourney.
March 18th, 2012 at 10:19 PM
#7
If Purdue beats Kansas I'm
If Purdue beats Kansas I'm gonna shit. I have Kansas as my champion.
March 18th, 2012 at 10:12 PM
#8
But can't all those other
But can't all those other teams that got upset say the same thing? Their road to the Final Four would have been easier, too. The whole Midwest region looks pretty crappy right now.
To be honest, given the way we struggled against teams like PSU and Northwestern, I don't think we were any kind of a sure thing against South Florida or anyone else we might have faced.
March 18th, 2012 at 10:27 PM
#9
Absolutely they can. I don't
Absolutely they can. I don't think them being frustrated is mutually exclusive with us being frustrated.
March 18th, 2012 at 10:28 PM
#10
given the way we struggled against teams like PSU and NW
What you've pointed out is something that many fans, in their enthusiasm, have chosen to ignore. This was far from a powerful team. It was scrappy and hard-working as hell, but when your best player is a true freshman, it's a sign that they are simply deficient in difference-making basketball talent from a team standpoint.
March 18th, 2012 at 11:10 PM
#11
I feel pissed too though
S. FLA was leading a lot in that game and I just think they puttered out at the end because they had to play 3 games in 5 days, I think we would've beat that team pretty good.
I still think Horford should've started playing about 10 games ago, why redshirt? We have a lot of talent coming in future classes and he was still gonna develop with 2 years left. I really believe he woulda helped us have a chance to win it all if we played smarter and acted like we wanted more.
He would've also helped energize the team and gave other guys more rest down the stretch with his extra size and shot blocking.
Purdue almost beat Kansas and we would've been the only B1G team to not make the Sweet 16, Purdue shoulda won that game.
March 19th, 2012 at 11:42 AM
#12
I believe Horford has not yet
I believe Horford has not yet fully recovered from his broken foot. He was still experiencing some pain when the decision to redshirt him was made. Certainly, he'd have helped, but you can't risk reinjury over it. (Not to mention that he'd already lost over half the season by that point.)
March 19th, 2012 at 7:46 AM
#13
What was your secret?
Seriously.
March 18th, 2012 at 9:34 PM
#14
We did not play like a final
We did not play like a final four team. Here's hoping Ohio knocks off those cocky bastards from the ACC.
March 18th, 2012 at 9:34 PM
#15
Lol
Lol
March 18th, 2012 at 9:35 PM
#16
wait
you had a drink for the first time in over 16 years because of a game? wtf
Also, we have a hockey team seeded #1, a pro hockey team about to start a Stanley Cup journey for 492nd straight season, and a damn good Tiger baseball team. Watch one of them now.
March 18th, 2012 at 9:35 PM
#17
it's single elim basketball.
it's single elim basketball. upsets happen. look forward to the hockey tourney, baseball starting and enjoy the June weather we've had the last week of WINTER.
March 18th, 2012 at 9:36 PM
#18
It is a little depressing
It is a little depressing seeing every other big ten team win, but whatever.
March 18th, 2012 at 9:37 PM
#19
There have been many
more Michigan sporting event disasters in the past 16 years that should have pushed you to drink. It hurts but let it go. We had a great season in BBall, 67 teams lose in the tourney and our number just came up sooner than expected.
March 18th, 2012 at 9:38 PM
#20
You'll feel worse
If Purdue beats Kansas too.
March 18th, 2012 at 9:39 PM
#21
I was rooting for Michigan,
I was rooting for Michigan, but as an Ohio (nto) grad I'm now rooting for the bobcats. Plus I hate UNC.
March 18th, 2012 at 9:51 PM
#22
how could u root against ur alma mater?
i can appreciate u liking um, but to not root for ur own school?
March 18th, 2012 at 9:57 PM
#23
I also attended UM, now I'm
I also attended UM, now I'm finishing up my phd at UVA. It's possible to attend multiple schools. I can understand your point without knowing all the info though.
March 18th, 2012 at 10:21 PM
#24
gotcha....
my bad...shoulda put 2 and 2 together...
actually did figure under grad and grad work at different schools after i posted...
oh well, good luck at uva
March 18th, 2012 at 10:27 PM
#25
No worries, my wife and I are
No worries, my wife and I are seriously considering a move back to a2. A lot of things would have to work out for that to happen. It would bring us closer to both of our families and a2 is great. Finding jobs for both of us... Not as easy as it sounds. As a former wolverine that lived in Ohio, I'm sure it is tough being a buckeye in Michigan. Perhaps you should convert.
March 18th, 2012 at 10:43 PM
#26
lol...
actually, i have found um fans to be some of the nicest around...
been to the big house for the last 2 um/osu match ups and wore the scarlet and grey among a sea of maize and blue and everyone was really cool! wish i could say the same about my brethren in columbus...
been here for 17 yrs and love it!
i really like um and root for them every week (except 1)...
oh well, best of luck to u and the wife and if u make it back to a2 i'll buy ya a beer at frasers!
March 18th, 2012 at 9:40 PM
#27
You could say that about the
You could say that about the bunnies and bounces going our way in literally every loss of less than about 10 points for any team ever. If we played better, we would have won. I'm over it. March-January is football season!
March 18th, 2012 at 9:41 PM
#28
No. It's not as if M got
No. It's not as if M got screwed or lost in some fluky way. Ohio outplayed them. M was never a legitimate Final Four contender. They overachieved all season. But teams started figuring them out toward the end. Next year will be better.
March 18th, 2012 at 9:41 PM
#29
I feel like Ohio may have
I feel like Ohio may have been underrated. They look like a real solid team, and DJ Cooper is just flat-out amazing.
March 18th, 2012 at 10:25 PM
#30
According to the announcers
Cooper was recruited hard by Baylor when they lost out on John Wall. He went to OU because he wanted to be someone's first choice. He already has the career assist record as a Junior.
As an Ohio-nto-grad, I'd like to welcome all MGoBandwagon jumpers aboard against UNC. FWIW, I was rooting for UM against OU because I thought they had a better chance for a long run.
March 18th, 2012 at 9:43 PM
#31
we had a great regular season
we had a great regular season but to me ohio exposed the problem we've had with most of john beilein's squads and that would be dribble penetration.. how many times did ohio's perimeter defense halt our offensive flow and we had to hoist up a shot with less then 8 sec left on the shot clock? (although they missed like 10 lay ups on top of that)
...next season should showcase a more athletic michigan team so well see how we handle ball pressure
March 18th, 2012 at 9:43 PM
#32
Nope, we ftat out got beat
Nope, we ftat out got beat the entire game.
March 18th, 2012 at 9:43 PM
#33
I would have felt worse if
I would have felt worse if Ohio had lost to USF. Now I want to see Ohio do something special and at least the pain of the loss will have some meaning.
March 18th, 2012 at 10:17 PM
#34
As much as this sucks, don't
As much as this sucks, don't forget that we'll still raise a banner for the Big Ten championship - our first since 1986.
A weird thing about this program - we never seem to combine Big Ten championships and strong tourney runs, at least not since they opened up the field to non-conference champions. Our 1977 team was ranked #1 in the country at the end of the regular season and then got upset by Marquette. The '85 and '86 teams both lost in the second round. This year, well, we know. Meanwhile, the '76, '89, '92 and '93 teams all failed to win the league title before reaching the national-title game.
March 18th, 2012 at 9:49 PM
#35
I want ALL the Big Ten teams
I want ALL the Big Ten teams to continue winning. That will make our regular season look that much better.
March 19th, 2012 at 7:00 AM
#36
Yes, our over-achieving team did win a share of the league
w/ the most Sweet Sixteen teams. Four. And had Purdue played aggressively when up one with a minute left, it may well have been five.
I think Purdue should have played to score at the first good opportunity, which had it come with 45-50 seconds left, would have ensured Purdue another possession. An indirect but game-losing outcome of sitting on the ball was the Purdue scramble/turnover and an easy basket for Kansas to take the lead w/ ~25 seconds to go. Kansas was going to get another possession. Why not ensure that you (Purdue) get one too?
March 18th, 2012 at 10:11 PM
#37
Ohio vs. South Florida
The question I honestly had after that game was this - how did the Bobcats only finish third in the MAC?
As for Michigan specifically, we had a great season (23-8 in the regular season, after all, and we get to hang a banner) despite the sting of the first-round exit in the tournament (and it did sting - I admit to starting St. Patrick's festivities on Friday night). I've tried to look at the long-term - the program is definitely headed in the right direction between the facility upgrades and the talent coming in and having the right personnel in charge of it. RIght now, my best hope is for a better, deeper run next year.
What could have been? To quote "The Tempest", "What is past is prologue." What about what could be if the improvement continues?
March 18th, 2012 at 9:50 PM
#38
I feel the same way,
I feel the same way, hopefully the hockey tournament lifts my spirits. Levenberry and Isaac commit would help too. As well as 2 week vacation in Hawaii. And some In n Out.
March 18th, 2012 at 9:57 PM
#39
In n Out???
You must be on the West coast also? The military dropped me off here in Vegas. How bout you?
March 18th, 2012 at 9:59 PM
#40
No I'm here in Michigan, just
No I'm here in Michigan, just having some cravings..
March 18th, 2012 at 9:52 PM
#41
Ohio played better
But they are not a better team which makes it even harder to swallow. Ohio has not been a good shooting team this season and really shot the ball better than would be expected. Not sure about shooting % but just watching the South Florida game it seemed like they came back to Earth shooting wise. The missed bunnies bother me but my biggest frustration was the lack of adjustment defensively, just seemed Ohio was shredding the man to man and 2-3 zone and I know the 1-3-1 zone can really slow a team down but was never shown.
March 18th, 2012 at 10:09 PM
#42
We're the better team, but
We're the better team, but the gap might not be as large as we expected. They've won what, 29 games this year? Sure, their schedule wasn't as strong, but still, to win that many games against D-I competition you have to be decent.
March 18th, 2012 at 10:22 PM
#43
Probably true
That the gap is not as wide as we expected but Ohio finished 3rd in their division in the MAC. Michigan just didnt play or coach as well as they are capable. Its no discredit to Ohio.
March 18th, 2012 at 10:57 PM
#44
But again, they went 29-7
But again, they went 29-7 overall. That's not a typical third-place team's record. It was probably a fluke that they finished in third.
March 18th, 2012 at 9:59 PM
#45
The truth is, the team had
The truth is, the team had been out of sync for several weeks. Since beating OSU on Feb 10, they struggled against Northwestern (winning in OT), got blized by Purdue, losing by 14 at home, nearly lost to Minnesota in the BTT if not for the shot by Smot, and then got pantsed by OSU in the 2nd round.
This team peaked too early. They unfortunately played their worse ball of the year in March, and that kills you in college basketball.
Plus, you have to give Ohio credit for hitting a TON of tough shots. Yeah, we missed layups, and I thought the refs swallowed their whistles on a few critical plays where a Michigan player was hit pretty hard, but D.J. Cooper and Ivo Baltic (at least in the first half) were the two best players on the floor. The team with the two best players on the floor usually wins.
They aren't a 1 or 2 man team either. Offutt went off in the game tonight, scoring 21 points on 7-9 shooting including 4-4 from 3. They've got guys who can play, and we didn't make enough plays to deserve to win. It sucks to say that, but it's true.
I'd rather lose like that then to lose some game where we dominated for 35 minutes and then the other team hit 5 3's in the last 5 minutes to pull the game out. Ohio earned the win.
March 18th, 2012 at 10:08 PM
#46
Maybe I will feel better next
Maybe I will feel better next week, but the tournament just seems blah at the moment.
March 18th, 2012 at 10:08 PM
#47
The feeling I have is
The feeling I have is bittersweet. We had a great season but we did not end so well. I think the pain will go away after the team makes a long run into the tourney next year.
March 18th, 2012 at 10:22 PM
#48
If you want to
feel better, think of it this way - by the end of the season, the kids had dead legs. It's not surprising, considering we were really only 6 deep (Vogrich and McLimans rarely played or Affected the outcome) and were lead by a true frosh who had never played that many games before.
This team was really laboring down the stretch and was unlikely to go much further. So stop worrying about what if
March 18th, 2012 at 10:23 PM
#49
I'm not rooting against
I'm not rooting against the Bobcats of Ohio because I will feel better about losing to a team that goes pretty far in the tournament.
March 18th, 2012 at 10:30 PM
#50
Yep, I hope they make a run.
Yep, I hope they make a run. If they beat UNC no one will remember about them beating us. Kind of like how George Mason beat State in the first round, then went to the final four.
March 18th, 2012 at 10:42 PM
#51
Yes, that was my feeling too.
And now, I am rooting for an unlikely Ohio (University) versus Ohio (State) clash in the Final!
OHIO!
March 18th, 2012 at 11:46 PM
#52
2 bigger upsets the same day
No one outside of Michigan and Ohio are going to talk much about the game because compared to the seismic upsets over Duke and Missouri, ours barley registered on the Richter scale.
4 seeds lose games. That's how they became 4 seeds to begin with. We were an incosistent team with a knack for hitting clutch shots at the end of games. This time we missed about 4 that would have put the game into overtime. When you live on the edge, eventually you get burned and we got burned at the worst time.
March 18th, 2012 at 10:37 PM
#53
Still trying to combine the
Still trying to combine the 2008 football season and sobriety in my mind. It doesn't seem possible.
March 18th, 2012 at 10:56 PM
#54
2008? what's that
I just checked out the history of my life and it goes 1987, 1988.......ect.....2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012.
March 18th, 2012 at 10:57 PM
#55
Speaking of Purdue/Kansas
Lewis Jackson might be the worst finisher since Lindsey Hunter. All the dude does is drive out of control and brick layups.
March 18th, 2012 at 11:07 PM
#56
LALALALA
LALALALALALA
I CAN'T HEAR YOU!
LALALALALALALA
March 18th, 2012 at 11:33 PM
#57
after that loss I did the
after that loss I did the only thing I could think of to make me feel better.
I masturbated.
Two minutes later I felt like a new man. Then I went to sleep.
Fin
March 18th, 2012 at 11:50 PM
#58
Do you want Big 10 to win?
In the tourney, I set aside my dislike for Michigan State and Ohio State (faux pax) and root for Big 10 teams. What do you do.
March 19th, 2012 at 12:02 AM
#59
Personally I go back and
Personally I go back and forth on the matter.
On the one hand we do compete directly with them for recruits so them doing worse is better for us.
On the other hand we need a strong league. If you don't have a strong league then you can get left out of the Tourney (see Pac 12).
Tourney performance does have an impact on how teams are pre ranked. Like football it is a baseline and while it shouldn't count for much if you are ranked early then it is easier to get back into the rankings with missteps throughout the season.
I was rooting really hard Saint Louis but in the end both outcomes can help UM.
March 19th, 2012 at 12:20 AM
#60
A rising tide lifts all boats
We compete with MSU and OSU for recruits, yes, but look at how the SEC's football strength relative to the rest of the country has loaded it with recruits. Players never leave the south anymore. Conversely, while I think the PAC will bounce back, if it continues to stink a lot of the top B-ball talent in California is going to start looking for other attractive places to go.
When the whole conference is good, everybody gets better. The B1G's rising basketball profile will only help us compete for players with teams from out-of-conference. Perhaps we lose a Detroit player to MSU, but then we start winning battles with a Florida or a Syracuse or even a Kansas.
March 19th, 2012 at 12:28 AM
#61
Lehigh lost. Now my bracket
Lehigh lost. Now my bracket is FUCKED.
March 19th, 2012 at 9:34 AM
#62
I'm disappointed in the way
I'm disappointed in the way we lost and the way we finished the season. We did over achieve and the gap with Ohio was overrated, both true. That said, we really laid an egg in the B1G tourney and NCAA. We could have and should have been ended better.
